How to Slay Your (Running) Setbacks

First-time Boston Marathoner Rachel DeBusk, 54, was fixated on setting a personal best in April. “I even used my time goal in my computer passwords,” she says. But when race-day temps rose into the mid-70s, she missed her mark. After a day or two of moping, DeBusk rallied: She identified skills and attitudes she could develop that would help her the next time she faced a similar situation.

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Sports psychologists call this a growth mind-set, which is the belief that talents and abilities can be developed, and it harnesses the power of “not yet” thinking. Carol Dweck, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Stanford University, was inspired by students who, upon receiving a grade of “not yet” (instead of an “F”) on material they hadn’t grasped, embraced the fact that they were on a learning curve and then steadily improved. For Dweck, the key to success is in how they view learning: Students who believe talent is innate may tend to underachieve when they experience setbacks, while students who believe they can develop skills and knowledge over time often perform better. It’s a powerful concept: Dweck’s 2014 TED Talk featuring this research has been viewed more than 6 million times.

Society sells us the idea that some individuals are crazy talented—and sure, a few are—but most of us can improve gradually, by identifying weaknesses in our approach and tailoring our training to address them. Setbacks are inevitable, but it’s how we frame those setbacks that spells the difference between eventually reaching our goals and accepting less than our best.

As a sports psychology postdoctoral fellow, Troy Moles, Ph.D., CC-AASP, created the “GPS” (Growth, Process, and Specific Skills) method to help athletes develop an optimal performance mind-set: identifying a positive and intrinsically motivating desire to improve (growth), concentrating on what is within your control (process), and targeting a skill to work on. “Growth mind-set is simply an adopted belief that you can improve through effort,” says Moles, who works at Premier Sport Psychology in Minneapolis. “It allows athletes to deliberately focus on skills in their training and races that can increase their performance. They’re focused on growing a mental, physical, technical, or tactical skill that will then help them get the outcome they desire.”

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Jude Buffum

Instead of: “I just can’t run in the heat.”

Try: “During my next race buildup, I want to do some long treadmill runs in a warm room to practice hydration, fueling, and pacing in less-than-ideal conditions.”

Why? You’ve identified an opportunity for growth (you haven’t practiced running in hot weather), and you’ve identified an action you can take (acclimation) to prevent a previous setback from recurring.

Try: “I want to have the energy to finish strong. To prepare for my next event, I will try taking in fuel earlier and more slowly during both long runs and race-pace workouts.”

Why? If the same setback “always” happens, that pattern may point to a solution, says Rachel Scheiner, a coach in Seattle. For example, if hitting the wall is always preceded by nausea, you may not be digesting gels well at race pace. Practice different fueling tactics during training to determine the best strategy.

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Jude Buffum

Instead of: “I’m getting slower every year—why can’t I place as high as I used to in races?”

Try: “Getting slower might be inevitable as I age, but I can alter my goals to stay motivated. For my next race, I choose to practice running an even pace instead of trying to beat a bunch of younger runners.”

Why? Extrinsic motivation, like wanting to defeat an opponent, is less likely to lead to success, says Moles: It depends on the actions of other people. Instead, focus on a process-oriented goal that is within your own control.

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